Laws Against Unfair Use of Journalism

Media is regarded as one of the pillars of democracy. It plays a vital role in moulding the opinion of the society and it is capable of changing the whole viewpoint through which people perceive various events.

Over the last few years, the media has often tried to pass a 'verdict' even before the courts pass a judgement. If used in the public's interest, the media can be a very powerful tool.

Well, We all just witnessed Mr. Arnab Goswami come on air on his new channel Republic and completely tear apart Mr. Shashi Tharoor, alleging his involvement in his wife's murder. If you haven't already, do check out the videos here.

How easy it has become for a journalist to come on air and influence people into taking certain actions or believe certain facts. And that's what good journalism is supposed to be, right?

The problem was, Arnab was not just pointing out that there is evidence against Tharoor, Arnab actually went on for hours defaming Tharoor and making his own conclusions based on whatever evidence he had procured.

Gathering recorded phone calls must have been a tough task, Arnab & Republic must have gone the extra mile to fetch these. Now here's what is confusing, did Arnab really want to take Tharoor to justice or is this just a media campaign for Republic's launch.

Arnab is a smart guy and he would have predicted that all of this is going to end up in a long-drawn legal battle, where he would require to prove his evidence. Why not go to the courts directly instead of breaking out conclusions? Does he really want justice or is he only looking to defame Tharoor's identity (could be the next congress PM candidate)?

Arnab might be trying to pull off a character based on truth and upliftment of the country, but his ways are not just questionable, but outright ridiculous. Planning a news right to the level of making it viral just be heard at the expense of someone else should be made punishable. Freedom of speech should be curtailed or at least checked if it is going to affect the mindset of millions of people.

Journalism like this is just adding to the noise and chaos rather than fixing it.

This is not the first time we have witnessed some one with the power of media, use it to either his own or someone else's expense. The public has no accessibility to the source of the information, how is the public supposed to know what is genuine and what is not.

Killing an identity has become a routine task for media houses, if there cannot be a judicial intervention for media, we might as well remove the censor board from movies, advertising & the internet etc

Why can't there be a legal framework with accessible means for an investigation of the one in question?

It's been too long that the media has been controlled by people of power, looking to bend audiences for their benefits. We understand that such issues have no simple answers, but we, along with some of India's finest lawyers will find a way to get rid of this noise. Suggestions are welcome in the comments section.

Please sign this petition to ask Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Jagdish Singh Khehar, Chief Justice of India to make sure that media has a voice to speak, but not a voice to shout.